Today is November 14, 2014. On November 14, 2006, the movie "Casino Royale" was released. It was the 21st Bond film in the series, and the first to star Daniel Craig as 007. To celebrate the eight-year anniversary of Craig's foray into international covert affairs, I thought we'd use his Bond movies to judge some of the more interesting NFL teams.
"Casino Royale"
"Casino Royale" was a very good movie. It successfully reintroduced the character of James Bond after several lackluster (and ridiculous) Pierce Brosnan-led Bond flicks (a newspaper tycoon was secretly pushing international powers towards nuclear war to sell more papers in "Tomorrow Never Dies"...Seriously?) The important thing to remember is that fans across the globe railed against Craig's casting as the suave and debonair secret agent at the time. Bond loyalists argued that he didn't share that classic look of previous actors who played the part. Yet the film was a surprising hit, and even die-hard Bond fans had to admit that Craig brought some unexpected reality to a character who's had more guns fired at him without being hit than anyone else in movie history.
The Detroit Lions are a fitting NFL parallel to the unexpected success of "Casino Royale." After all, the Lions were coming off a disappointing 7-9 season last year. But today, they sit atop the NFC North at 7-2, and their success is due to the most unlikely of sources: their defense. Detroit has always relied on Matthew Stafford's arm and Calvin Johnson's "Calvin Johnson-ness" for success. They have the NFL's top-ranked defense, thanks to unanticipated contributions from cornerback Darius Slay and the best defensive line in the league. It's fair to say that no one saw this coming.
"Quantum of Solace"
"Quantum of Solace" was not a good movie, but at least it had a legit excuse. "Solace" was made in the midst of Hollywood's writers' strike. Making a movie without writers is like letting Roger Goodell run your professional sports league; there are going to be a lot of problems.
That's why the St. Louis Rams are the perfect comparison. The Rams were everyone's hot pick for breakout team of the year during the preseason. They had first-round picks all across the defensive line, Robert Quinn looked like a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate and Sam Bradford was finally healthy.
Naturally, all of the preseason hype reverse jinxed the Rams as Bradford again tore his ACL before the regular season. St. Louis has essentially been nose diving ever since. They're 3-6 this season with one of the worst offenses in the league. Quinn has just six sacks in nine games after tallying 19 last year. St. Louis is practically guaranteed to finish last in the NFC West for the third time in four years.
"Skyfall"
Sure, you could say "Skyfall" was a tad too long, and maybe the plot was kind of ripped off from "Mission Impossible," but Daniel Craig can't really hear your complaints over the Everest-sized mountain of box office money "Skyfall" made. Over $1.1 billion has "Skyfall" nestled in comfortably as the ninth-highest grossing film of all-time. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that the movie laid waste to everything in its path.
And so have the New England Patriots. The Pats have reeled off five straight victories in impressive fashion after their rocky 2-2 start. New England has scored at least 40 points in four of those five games. The Pats are third in points per game (31.2), eighth in passing yards per game (265.8) and ninth in total yards per game (367). Only the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos have scored more than New England's 281 points this season. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that the Patriots have laid waste to everyone in their path.
